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Subject:RE: Is this the future of Tech Comm? From:"Tariel, Lauren R" <lt34 -at- saclink -dot- csus -dot- edu> To:<arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com>, <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:01:29 -0700
Well that looks disturbing. I don't like the face on the monitor. I think that "talking gadgets" will have a popularity that parallels the "talking" phone mazes that have replaced receptionists. There are not any receptionists for gadgets, so adding a "talk" feature to gadgets won't really replace a human.
Additionally, interfacing with gadgets through talking would probably slow most people down who are accustomed to having the ability to select options as they appear rather than having to wait for the gadget to talk. Add to this, that if "talking gadgets" could replace the current interfaces that we have, then there will need to be people to program the dialog for those gadgets. If the technology became popular, then there could be a slight burst in technological "script" writing. At least until reality sets in and the novel idea loses ground.
But I think that a talking security system for work could be a lot of fun for certain prompts. "Invalid password." "Thank you for logging back in. Your lunch break was 90 minutes." "You have email from eBay." "The user ID that you have entered has been disabled and security is being notified."
Lauren
________________________________
From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com on behalf of arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com
Sent: Wed 9/19/2007 1:45 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Is this the future of Tech Comm?
"A new company called Cognitive Code has built software that it believes will let everyday gadgets talk with humans."
If this is what the future holds, what does that do to change Technical Communicators? The base principles remain
the same, but I foresee major skill gulfs between "technical writers"
and "communication interface specialists" or whatever title one might receive.
It's not just science fiction any more. Are we ready for this change in culture as well as technology?
:)
Arroxane
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